Manolo for the Beauty

44% of you feel that if a slightly different set of criteria were applied, men have just as much pressure to “look good” as women do.  38% of you call malarkey on that.  14% of you found yourselves looking at the men around you and not being impressed in the least.  I’m torn on this one.  I think they do have some pressure, not as much as women, but I think they can get away with more.

Today I want to know what you think about magnetic nail polish.

It was tight, but Padma Lakshmi and her tendrils won out over Heather Morris’ severe updo at the Emmys last week.  I agree with the majority.  I have never been a huge fan of hair that is tightly pulled back, I think it looks good on a very small percentage of the population.

Today’s poll is about nail art and its rising popularity.

Pros: Great shine, easy to hold, inexpensive, easy to use, lasts a long time.

Cons: None I can think of.

Verdict: If you don’t polish your nails, this is a fantastic alternative.

Color me totally surprised that a whopping 44% of you do not color your hair.  42% color all of it, and only 12% are like me, who only colors part of it.  When I say part of it, I mean that I get my hair weaved, (which is different than something like this) where the colorist systematically goes around the scalp doing only fine sections of hair throughout.  It makes for a nice “natural” look as your hair is not all one color, and I’ve been doing it for at least 18 years.  At first it was just to punch up my natural color, which is a dirty blonde, but now it is mainly to cover all the gray.  However, that is a losing battle and it won’t be long until I will be forced to either color all of it or go natural. 

Today, I’ve got to find out what you think about these:

Some of you may have noticed an option in this weeks Beauty Poll that addressed the blue nail polish the model was wearing, rather than the orange makeup trend.

Every time I look at this site, my eyes actually gloss right over that orange eyeshadow and go directly to the nails. 

I became, uh, a little obessessed about it.

I thought it would be the perfect color for my little tootsies as Easter is just around the corner.

Luckily for me, the credits on the photo are rather large, and I was easily able to tell the color was from my fave nail polish company, OPI.

And yee-haw, after searching for a while, I finally found the color!   I was almost ready to peg the color as “Breathe Life” after seeing it on the OPI website, but thanks to the numerous nail polish review sites, I was able to see that Breathe Life has a shimmer, whereas this one is totally flat.

It is called “I Vant to be A-Lone Star” and it is part of the Texas collection.  In my completely unprofessional opinion, I think this color would look lovely on almost any skin tone.

Me vant!

I simply don’t have the time or the energy to keep up with color on my hands.

I have a toddler, and I think I rival a doctor for the amount of times a day I wash my hands. The wear and tear on my nails and skin is pretty intense, and I have a hard enough time keeping my hands hydrated, much less making sure a manicure looked perfect. I would have to do the whole base coat/top coat thing, and most days I feel lucky I got to take a shower, much less futz around with ten nails and color that is guaranteed to wear off.

Because if there is one thing I hate, and I know it was trendy for a while, it’s chipped color on my nails. Sadly, that trend is no longer. Although supposedly this is a new polish trend, one that I could definitely get behind. Chipped color drives me nuts, and when it happens, I can’t stop looking at it. Not being able to fix it immediately would trigger an OCD reaction, and it would just be more trouble than it was worth.

I’ve never even had a professional manicure, for goodness sakes. I think I am one of the few left in North America. I have the feeling I belong in a museum or something. My placard would read “Manicurus Avoidus, somehow managed to never visit a nail salon in her life, despite there being one on practically every corner in 21st Century America.”

But color on my toes?

Different story entirely.

Maybe because my feet are farther away and I can’t see the chips as well?

Hmmm, interesting…

Last week I wanted to know what your favorite special occasion hairstyle was, and 44% of you responded that it was basically your same everyday style, just with a bit more “oomph.”  21% go for curled and down, while only 5% do curled and up.  10% simply put their hair up, and 7% of you straighten your hair and leave it down.  Me? If I’m feeling especially festive, I will break out the Caruso steam rollers (which are fab, by the way) and leave my hair down, which is it’s normal state when I’m not kid or baby-wrangling. 

I’m in a state of shock over seeing my mom with black nail polish on her nails this weekend, courtesy of her 18 year old niece’s beauty stash.  It’s shocking because she normally doesn’t even wear nail polish, and doubly shocking because my mother is about as trendy as Queen Elizabeth II.